


We'll Be Your Home

by peanatbutterjelly



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Brief mention of NCT 127, Doyoung is NCT Dream's mum, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Heavy Angst, How Do I Tag, Implied Relationships, Inspired by The Dream Show, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Light Angst, Lots of Crying, M/M, Na Jaemin is a good boyfriend, Romance, Sad Lee Jeno, Slice of Life, Taeyong is another mum, blink and you might miss it, chensung - Freeform, mark is a good leader, markhyuck, nomin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2021-02-13 03:20:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21487492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peanatbutterjelly/pseuds/peanatbutterjelly
Summary: 15 November 2019 - 17 November 2019.When the boys of NCT Dream were granted their very own concert, the boys were happy. In fact, the adjective was probably an understatement for the feelings they experienced the moment they heard the news. All of them had dreamt about it, and finally, as if the stars aligned, they were going to have the opportunity to achieve their dreams. It took months of blood, sweat and tears, all for 3 hours on stage in Jangchung Arena in front of 6000 fans across a total duration of 3 days. For some, they still could not believe that they were standing on the big stage with the biggest lime green ocean they had ever seen. Sadly, as they always say, nothing in life is permanent, meaning that nothing good lasts forever and the same goes for the bad things too.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 2
Kudos: 90





	We'll Be Your Home

**Author's Note:**

> And I'm back again with another piece of work, except this was quite an emotionally challenging piece to write. If it wasn't already clear from the tags, this was inspired by all the content that flooded my timeline over the past weekend, and that would be the events and happenings of NCT Dream's Tour, The Dream Show. I was thinking about when I should put this out, given that the wounds for many of us are still fresh, but I figured that the magic of any given moment only lasts so long, so here I am, posting it today. 
> 
> First thing's first, I'd like to apologise for any inaccuracies in the content, given that I was not actually there, and the events in the story are simply based on what I saw on Twitter. Secondly, this was, once again, a pretty rushed piece, as I only took 2 days to write and proofread it, so there might be mistakes littered throughout the whole story. Lastly, I would suggest having some tissues prepared. While I remained dry faced myself, my heart did sink progressively as I wrote this, so the last thing I would be sorry for is the consequent waterworks. 
> 
> Nevertheless, I hope you guys enjoy the story that I have put out today and feel free to scream at me on Twitter [here](https://twitter.com/natty_cookies) or perhaps my CCs [here](https://curiouscat.me/peanat_crumbles).

15 November 2019 - 17 November 2019. 

These were the dates the boys of NCT Dream looked forward to. After seeing their bandmates NCT 127 embark on their successful world tour, Neo City: The Origin, they wondered when they would be able to do the same. They had heard many fun, exciting and even touching stories from the older members, and at that time, they could only hope that they would be able to experience that feeling of performing in front of thousands at a time in different countries. It must have been surreal, they thought, and while they congratulated them, they could not help but feel a tiny bit envious of the opportunity.

Therefore, when their company announced that they would be going on their own world tour, they were ecstatic. Of course, shock and surprise had set in first, as their eyes became the size of golfballs and their jaws opened wide, but when they had finally come to terms with the news, the boys huddled into a group hug with wide smiles reaching up to their eyes. 

“Congratulations,” Lee Sooman said, and even he was smiling seeing them so happy, “Do well alright?” 

“We will!” The team said in unison, before going back into a circle formation once again, hands on each other’s shoulders, shouting as they bounced, “YO DREAM, JJEORO JUJA HWAITING!” 

From that day on, they threw themselves into practice, and for some reason, their energy never died down, even when they practiced their songs over and over again. It was especially tough on Haechan, given that he had to juggle both NCT 127 and NCT Dream activities, but he pushed on and he was more than thankful for the members of NCT 127 and Dream who always cheered him on and gave him the strength he needed to get through the gruelling practices. Even Mark and Taeyong made it a point to send him messages of encouragement, even when they were halfway around the globe. And of course, there was also Doyoung, the self-proclaimed mother figure of NCT Dream, who went as far as to setting up a group chat for the 7 of them so that he could send positive messages every single morning and notified them whenever he was coming round to deliver food and drinks during their practices. 

With all that support, they could not have been more thankful, knowing that they would always have people they could turn to when the going got tough. Hence, even when practices could go on for close to 24 hours and it rendered them simply lying on the floor with wet hair, clothes drenched with sweat, aching muscles and huffs and puffs, they were happy. 

Very, very happy. 

The months seemed to fly by in a blink of an eye and before they knew it, it was Day 1 of their concert at the Jangchung Arena. They could not see the fans in person, no matter how much they wanted to, since they needed time to rehearse and dress for the occasion, but they knew that they were out there waiting to see them. The staff members had even gone the extra mile to show them some footage of fans they had interviewed to send their video messages to the boys. They could not have been more grateful, and were more than fuelled to do their best for the performance for the sake of the fans. 

And they sure did put on a good show, every single day. They gave their all on stage, dancing harder than ever before, and even showcased a little extra— things they knew the fans would have never expected. For example, in Jeno’s case, he was not sure where all the confidence came from, but he ended up ripping his denim buttoned shirt open during the last chorus of Boom to show off his chiselled abs that he had been working on for months, and the fans screamed in delight (and shock) at the sight. Onto the slower stages, in which they simply sang, they made sure to walk to every single area of the stage, making sure that all 6 of them could interact with the fans from every angle possible, never missing out on any particular spot at any point in time. 

Their concert was a success, clearly, given that they had trended on Twitter on every single day of their concert without fail and all the fancams had raked in hundreds and thousands of views. Positive comments were left everywhere, from Twitter to Instagram to LYSN, and they were from all over the world too, which the members could not have been more proud of. For Jaemin especially, it was exceptionally surreal, given that he had written in his diary during the NCT 2018 era that he had dreamt of going on a world tour, and here he was, living the dream. 

At the end of every show, they always made sure they gave a bow to the fans at all angles, thanking them for their support and love for the past couple of years, and even though they were sad to leave the stage since they wanted to spend more time with the fans, they always left proud at the end of the day and most importantly, happy. They would go home running on adrenaline of finally being able to perform on the big stage, reminiscing and speaking excitedly of the events that went on. Sure, they were physically tired, but their hearts still beat in excitement and their smile muscles did not seem to show any sign of becoming exhausted. 

By now, perhaps the adjective “happy” was slowly starting to become an understatement. 

Unfortunately, as they all say, all good things had to come to an end and before they knew it, here they were with their last 20 minutes on the stage of Jangchung arena, in front of the last group of 6000 fans. They could not believe it, frankly, given that they had worked so hard for the past few months for this, all for a span of a combined 9 hours on stage in 3 days. As much as they showed smiles to the fans, they felt their hearts slowly tear to shreds every passing second. They knew that this might be the last time that the fans saw the 6 of them like this, simply because of the graduation system, and for quite a while too. 

Don’t get them wrong though, they were hopeful that there were things in store for them by the company (or at least they really did hope so) but at this point in time, all they could think about was the fact that they would no longer be standing on any stage in this particular line-up anymore. It was already hard on all of them when Mark left, and now, Chenle and Jisung had to watch four members leave at one go. One could only imagine how hard it must be for the youngest members, who still had a year and two more to go before they officially graduated. Sure, they could still meet up every now and then, and they still were tied to the same base of NCT, but it would be different. 

Very, very, very different. 

As the members said their goodbyes, Renjun was already sobbing into the sleeves of his Dream Show sweatshirt, tears staining his face in mere seconds and he struggled to hold himself together as he thanked the fans, as well as the members, for all their support over the past 3 years. He passed the time onto Haechan as he cried into Jeno’s shoulder and Haechan began to speak, mentioning that it was such an honour to be granted a concert. However, the moment he mentioned that he missed Mark the most on the last day, Jisung’s dam had broken and he turned around, not wanting the fans to see his crying face. As he choked on his sobs, his knees buckled and it was clear he could not care less about how he looked like on the camera, given that his face twisted into a look of hurt and anguish. Renjun immediately ran to the youngest, enveloping him in a hug while he tried to dry the tears of his own, and Jeno followed suit, squatting down to meet Jisung’s height. After rubbing soothing circles into the latter’s back, he left for a while to get some water, and came back in a jiffy.

Now, Haechan was being embraced in a tight group hug consisting of Jeno, Jaemin and Chenle, much like how the members of NCT 127 hugged Johnny when he cried in Chicago. All of them continued their speeches after that, and while Jeno, Jaemin and Chenle remained seemingly dry-faced, one could tell that they were on the verge of tears too. Jeno’s lips were starting to quiver, Jaemin had teary eyes and Chenle simply kept looking away from the members who were still sobbing their eyes out. At the end of it all, they reassured the fans that they would be back, somehow, and told them to leave with happy memories and well wishes, rather than sad ones. 

It was an emotional 30 minutes before it was time to take the group photo and finally, take their leave from the beautiful lime green ocean that the fans had given them. At first, the group walked to the waiting room in silence, Jisung was now walking with Chenle, Haechan with Renjun and Jeno with Jaemin, who led the way back. All of them began to pack their things and they still did not speak a word to one another. Chenle helped Jisung to pack, given that the latter was still trying to collect his emotions, while the rest packed ever so slowly, soaking in the fact that the moment they walk out of the room, it would be officially over. The staff members did not rush them either, probably understanding the fact that the boys needed the time. 

“We did well, guys, we did well.” Jeno said, breaking the silence once and for all, and they nodded in unison, “We gave our all and I’m glad that we managed to give them the best we could possibly give. It has not been easy, but I could not have asked for a better team, so thank you.” 

And with that, they huddled up once again for the final Dream cheer of the Korean leg of the tour. The atmosphere was heavy and solemn, but they still did it anyway with a proud and grateful heart. The two youngest took their leave first, and Renjun followed closely behind. Haechan took one last look at the room, put on a smile and walked on, while Jeno and Jaemin ensured that nobody had left anything behind. The two did not say a word to one another, but with the two of them, there was simply no need to. They had been best friends for almost 7 years and boyfriends for a year and a half, so they had reached a point when they could sit in silence and feel as if they had the best conversation they ever had. 

On a usual day, Chenle would have headed back home to his own apartment that he shared with his mother, but he figured that he should probably spend a night or two in the dorm and she was more than understanding. Hence, when they reached the dorm, Chenle and Jisung headed into the room that the latter usually shared with Jaemin. Renjun went to the kitchen and Haechan simply made himself at home in Renjun’s room, since he knew better than to interrupt the couples’ and best friends’ private time. Renjun only sighed at the thought of having Haechan as a roommate for the next 2 nights or so, but he supposed he did not mind the extra company. 

Until now, Jeno was still silent and as much as he tried to appear strong in front of the younger members so that he could become their pillar to lean on, Jaemin saw right through that and knew his boyfriend was already on the verge of breaking down. He could tell by the way Jeno did not hold eye contact with anyone for more than 3 seconds and even when he smiled, reassuring that he was okay, the joy did not reach his eyes one bit. It was also clear in the way he made a beeline for his room and closed the door almost immediately and oh, how Jaemin wanted to rush in and embrace the clearly hurting pseudo-leader. Nevertheless, he knew Jeno inside and out, and figured that it was best to leave him alone for a bit in tough times before reaching out a helping hand. That was simply how Jeno worked.

“Will he be okay?” Renjun asked, hands holding onto a cup of water.

“I think he will be. It’s Jeno, after all. He has his moments, but nothing that he can’t handle. We just need to give him some space.” Jaemin responded, and Renjun nodded in understanding. 

They did not really know what to say to one another, especially after all the events that had just happened. Maybe they were still in their adolescent stage, where the expression of feelings simply did not sit too well with them as boys, but that awkwardness was soon broken by a collective ping from their phones. 

It was Doyoung, congratulating them on the group chat for completing their first ever concert and notifying them that he had already ordered a scrumptious dinner of fried chicken, pizza and coke, the boys’ favourite food and drinks. He went on to let them know how proud he was and empathised with them, reassuring that if they ever needed someone to talk to, he would always be there for them, every step of the way. Responses soon started coming in from Jisung and Chenle and then Haechan, who thanked him for everything and surprisingly, the playful maknae of NCT 127 sent in the longest message and they were pretty sure Doyoung’s heart was touched by those words. Renjun and Jaemin responded too, but Jeno remained silent. 

He had seen the messages, Jaemin checked, but he did not say a word. Jaemin was a little worried now, not having a clue to the inner emotional turmoil that his boyfriend was going through, but he pushed it to the back of his mind and went around to check on the others. Haechan was dry-faced now, but was typing on his phone fervently with a small, though slightly sad smile on his face. He figured that it must be Mark, who was away in the USA for his own concert in SuperM. Despite the fact that it was probably 5am or so, they knew they could always count on Mark for emotional support, wherever and whenever. He then proceeded to the room Jisung and Chenle were in, and there Chenle was, patting the back of his best friend who was still choking on his sobs to a certain extent. He did not know how Chenle did it, remaining seemingly stoic amidst all the emotional events, but it was clearly something that Jisung needed. 

“Jisung-ah...” Jaemin spoke, kneeling down on one knee to meet Jisung’s eyes, before proceeding to give his self-proclaimed child a tight hug. At the sight, Chenle joined in too, his arms wrapping round Jaemin and Jisung. No words needed to be spoken, they just knew what the other was trying to say — We’ll be alright. 

“Hyung,” Jisung finally spoke, voice coming out a little hoarse, “How’s Jeno hyung? Is he okay?” 

As expected of Jisung. Even though he was endearingly known as the Maknae on Top by fans and fellow members alike, he was always looking out for the other members when it really came down to it. 

“I… don’t know really.” Jaemin replied after some hesitation. 

“Why don’t you go down to him then?” Chenle chipped in, “I think he needs you. I mean, I know he has a little too much pride and stubbornness within him to admit that he’s hurting, but the presence of his boyfriend by his side would definitely help. Don’t worry about us, hyung, we’ll be fine.” 

And Jaemin did. Renjun was in the shower, so he could not check in with the latter, but he knew, deep down inside, that Renjun was a relatively emotionally strong boy. He will be okay and it was granted that all he needed was simply a little time to get all his emotions together. 

Jaemin walked to Jeno’s room, in which the door was still closed, and frankly, he wanted to simply walk in, but Jeno would not want that, so he resorted to holding onto the door knob, hesitating whether to turn it or not. He could knock, sure, but with his mind clouded in worry, it simply did not register that knocking was an option too. 

Time passed by at a snail’s pace as he figured his next course of action, but seeing as to how the room was silent and Jeno did not seem to be showing any signs of intending to leave his room, he was about to walk off and leave Jeno alone, until he heard his boyfriend’s voice speaking to another. 

“Hyung, how did you do it?” 

“You gave us so much hope when we left. Yes, we were all crying our eyes out, but we knew that we were going to be okay. You gave us so much strength and confidence in the fact that there would be a bright future and a flowery road for us to walk on. I don’t have the gift of speech, I can’t do it.” 

“I did well? Really? How am I supposed to say that when Jisung became a sobbing mess across all three days? He’s so young, hyung, he doesn’t deserve all this pain and doubt.” 

“I just feel as if I haven’t given them enough, unlike you. Seriously, what do I do? I feel so lost and helpless seeing all of them break into pieces like this. I can’t say for sure what’s going to happen, and I feel so sorry for them, hyung. How did you do it? Really, how could you?” 

Jeno’s voice was truly starting to break right now and Jaemin was trying his best to hold back the tears that he had kept in for so long, but to no avail. They were finally flowing, and while he patted them away with the sleeves of his hoodie, new ones just kept coming. He was already starting to sniffle and he worried that his boyfriend had heard him, and true enough, there he was, standing face to face with his breaking boyfriend. It was clear that Jeno was a little surprised, eyes wide as his hands held onto his phone pressed against his ear. 

“Jeno? Jeno-ah, are you still there?”

“S-sorry hyung, I’ll call you back in a bit.” 

And so he pressed the “End Call” button, but Jaemin did notice the caller ID “Makkeuri”, just like he thought. Even though NCT Dream did not have an official leader per se, Mark had taken the initiative to do so, and they were glad he did, or in all honesty, they might not have lasted this long. 

“J-Jaemin-ah… I…”

Jaemin did not let him speak, and instead went straight to embrace Jeno in the biggest and strongest hug he could possible. Once Mark left, the fact became even clearer that they did not actually have a leader due to their rotational nature, but this time around, Jeno took the position, though subtly. He did not necessarily organise the group in any way, unlike Mark who helped actively with their choreography or got them into their various positions when they started to stray. He was more of a person that went around and checked on each individual to see if they were alright, and provided aid when necessary. Every leader was different, and this was just Jeno’s way of doing it. He strongly believed that with strong individuals, only then would a team be successful, as they always said, “A group can only be as strong as its weakest link”. He knew he did not have Mark’s presence in the group as the leader, so doing it collectively would not have worked, resulting in him putting in more effort into each member instead. 

Perhaps they ended up taking it for granted, because as far as Jaemin can remember, nobody really asked how Jeno was doing. He was always there for others, without fail, quite similar to Doyoung, but he did not ever share his struggles with the band, simply because he did not want to cause any unnecessary worry. 

He could handle it. He could. 

Or so he thought. 

Jaemin never let go of Jeno, and as time went by, he began to realise that Jeno was already beginning to crack. He felt the latter’s body tremble with grief and his shoulders heaved with emotion, while his breathing got progressively more ragged. Jaemin had not felt any tears drip onto his shoulder yet, meaning that Jeno was simply trying to stifle it and attempting to hide his grief. However, he did not last long as the floodgates opened, overcome by his emotions as he washed his defences away in the form of salty and bitter tears. His grip on Jaemin became tighter, as if he was trying to will himself to stop crying while holding onto his lifeline, but his efforts were clearly in vain. 

“Cry it out. It’s okay.” Jaemin said in a soothing tone, making sure his voice did not quiver. Jeno had been so strong all this while, and it was time Jaemin repaid the favour.

“J-Jaem… I-I c-can’t do it—” 

“Shhh… Don’t say anything. Just let it all out.” 

Those words only made Jeno cry harder, as his crying soon turned into a mix of ragged breaths, gasps and strangled cries. Jaemin was crying himself, sniffling to keep everything in, and it sure did break his heart seeing his boyfriend in such a vulnerable and shattered state. He could only imagine how much weight of emotional baggage Jeno must have felt all this while, and his entire being filled with regret. 

He should have checked in with Jeno sooner. He should have asked Jeno whether he was okay. He should have spent more time with Jeno back at the dorms when the latter was seemingly cooped up in his own room. He should have hugged him longer, despite all the times when Jeno would push him away in embarrassment. He should have kissed him to show how much Jeno meant to him… It was an endless list really, and Jaemin could not have felt worse. 

Jeno continued to sob into Jaemin’s shoulder and soon, his hoodie was completely drenched. Whether it was in tears, saliva or snot, he did not really care. All he wanted was for Jeno to release all the emotions that he had kept within him for so long and soon enough, he did, after a very long and drawn out duration of half an hour. Jeno had so little energy left that he could barely stand, and his eyes were puffy, his nose was red and his once beautiful porcelain alabaster cheeks were now stained with tear streaks. Jaemin brought him slowly to the bed so that his boyfriend would not end up collapsing on him just like that, but as he wanted to leave, Jeno grabbed his hand and said, “Nana, don’t leave. Please.”

“I’m not, just let me get some water alright? I’ll be right back. Don’t move.” 

And true enough, Jaemin returned with a cup of water in Jeno’s favourite mug and Jeno remained in the same spot, staring into space now. It took him a while to respond to Jaemin handing him the cup and he sipped his water, ever so slowly, as if it hurt to even drink. 

“I’m sorry you had to see me like this.” Jeno finally spoke, voice a little airy from all the sobbing. 

“What are you sorry for?” 

“Nana… Y-you won’t understand. I…” 

“Help me then, Lee Jeno. Help me so that I can help you. You’ve been keeping it in for so long. It’s not healthy, you know that, and it breaks my heart to see you like this. So tell me. What is it?” 

“I feel so helpless, Nana. I wanted to give hope, not just to the fans, but to the members too, and I feel like I could not. Did you hear Jisung? He sounded so unsure of what was in store for him in the near future and he’s only 17. When we were 17, we just debuted and we were so, so positive, confident of the fact that we would have a bright future ahead of us, but look at us now. I can’t scroll through Twitter either, because I know our fans are sad too, and I feel like we simply lied to them that we would always be NCT Dream. We know better, Jaemin. Renjun’s probably going to WayV, Haechan’s going back to NCT 127… I can’t help it, Jaemin, I really can’t come to terms with the fact that we gave those our age so much hope, and here we are, taking it away from them. What was NCT Dream for? It was to give hope and it was all about encouraging people to keep working towards their dreams. Now…” 

Jeno paused for a moment, taking a breath, and before he could go into another emotional breakdown, Jaemin knew he had to speak up. 

“Jeno… Don’t you see? We have given them hope. We’ve seen it all on Twitter, in our fan mail, at our fansigns and even on Renjun’s radio show, the fans have told us time and time again about how we have become a group of people they look up to and feel inspired by. We’ve heard so many success stories through the years, of how because of our music and our passion for what we do, they keep persevering through their own adversities because of us. Sometimes, they come back to us, telling us what they have achieved because of us. We’ve done it, Jeno. We really have. Sure, it’s sad that we have to go now, but like they always say, good things don’t last forever. The same goes for bad things, they won’t last forever too. As our fans grow up, it’s probably high time we do too and give them something new for them to look forward to.” 

“What does that mean?” 

“Humans work in funny ways, I have to admit. They constantly need something new to keep them interested and most importantly, motivated to keep then working towards their goal or achieving their dreams. It’s been 3 years since we’ve given them that, so perhaps it is really time for a change, as they find something new to keep them going. Our story ends here, legally, but it does not mean we can’t continue the legacy that we left behind. It’ll just be in a different context, that’s all. We’re still NCT anyway, and we’ll always be the first generation of NCT Dream. No one can take that away from us.” 

At this, Jeno was beginning to smile a little and Jaemin could not help but reciprocate it too. 

“Why do you always know the right things to say at the right times?” 

Jaemin did not answer, but he simply shrugged his shoulders, and proceeded to give his boyfriend a quick peck. 

“Thank you Nana, for everything. You’ve stood by me all these years, through thick and thin and frankly, I don’t know how you do it. I’m not too good with words, but just know that I’m always grateful to have you by my side.” 

“Same here, Lee Jeno, same here.” 

And that was when they shared a proper kiss, something that had not happened for a very long while. The world fell away as they did so, and it was slow, soft and comforting in ways that the feeling it brought could not be expressed by mere words. This was not their first kiss, oh no, it was not, but it never failed to send warmth through Jaemin’s entire being, whereas for Jeno, it always sent sparks, as if fireworks were bursting in his chest. They complemented each other in that way and it was probably what made them perfect. 

As they parted for air, the shrill doorbell rang and resonated throughout the house, and by the sounds of the excited footsteps that ran past the room, it was probably the signal that the food Doyoung had ordered was here. They could not exactly hear what was going on outside, too absorbed in each other’s company, but by the excited rustles of plastic bags and more footsteps, they could tell that the other members were probably famished and despite all that had happened, food was simply something they would not miss for the life of them. 

Jeno and Jaemin took a while to get out, but that was until Haechan had come banging on the door, shouting, “Yo, lovebirds. Dinner’s here! If you guys don’t come out, you can be pretty sure there would be nothing left for the two of you!” 

At that, the couple could not help but to share a laugh and rolled their eyes, knowing full well that Mark and Haechan were probably even bigger lovebirds than the two of them. 

“Come on, let’s go.” And Jaemin proceeded to open the door with one hand, while the other made its way to Jeno’s, and they intertwined their fingers straight away without any form of hesitation. 

Outside, the rest of the members looked on at them and usually, there would always be some teasing involved, but they supposed today was not the day to do so. They knew Jeno had had a rough day, perhaps even worse than them, given that they had never seen his eyes so puffy before. Nevertheless, they did not need to say anything to Jeno per se. He already knew full well that they were ever grateful and proud of him for taking on the role of being their pseudo-leader, and even in the silence, he could not have been more relieved knowing that his efforts had paid off. 

What Jaemin said was right, maybe it was really time to move on. They had done what they could and they had done it well. They had achieved their dreams and it’s perhaps time for them to start making new ones too. It was time to move forward and look ahead to what lies beyond the bubble of what they were so used to, and that was being the official members of NCT Dream. Renjun was going to start performing back in the Motherland; Jeno and Jaemin were probably headed off to participate in the next line up of sorts, perhaps NCT U; Haechan was officially going to become an NCT 127 member only; while Chenle and Jisung were going to be mentoring and welcoming the new batch of NCT Dream members. It was not going to be easy, but deep down, they knew they would make it, simply because they always did.

By then, Chenle had already taken the initiative to pour each member an equal amount of coke into their plastic cups. They were about to make a toast, but Jeno stopped them and whipped out his phone, dialling Mark’s number with deft movements of his fingers. 

“Hello?” Mark picked up after the third ring, voice heavily laced with sleep as it was now 6am in the US. He probably fell back asleep when Jeno hung up.

“Hyung.” 

“Oh, hey Jeno. You doing better?” 

“Yeah, I think I am.” 

“That’s good, so why did you call?” 

“I’m asking for a favour.”

“Mmhmm, and what’s that?” 

“Would you do the honours of leading the Dream cheer?” 

Mark chuckled at the question, asking if he was always going to be the one to do it, even when he was no longer a member. 

“We told you hyung,” Chenle spoke, “You’re technically the only one we’d truly respond to.” 

“Alright alright, let me at least go to the balcony. I don’t want to scare Taeyong hyung out of his wits.” 

And so they waited as Mark got out from the bed and opened the balcony door to step out, before closing it behind him. It seemed to be a windy morning, but Mark did not seem to mind as he spoke again with new fervour and energy. 

“Ready? YO DREAM.”

“JJEORO JUJA FIGHTING!”

“YO DREAM!”

“JJEORO JUJA FIGHTING!” 

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you who have made it up to this point, I just wanted to say thank you for reading! It has been a while since I have put out anything that has been officially "Completed", so I have to say that I'm honoured and grateful for all your support! <3 I hope you guys aren't crying too much and if you are, I'm so so sorry omg. I'll check in with you guys in the comment section or if you want, as mentioned earlier, you can feel free to scream at me on Twitter [here](https://twitter.com/natty_cookies) or perhaps my CCs [here](https://curiouscat.me/peanat_crumbles)! ^^;; Have a pleasant one ahead and I'll see you guys in my next work!


End file.
